Dispensing container for nested articles



June20, 1933. w, E, SWIFT DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR NESTED ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed 00tl9, 1929 June 20, 1933. w. E. SWIFT DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR NESTED ARTICLES Filed Oct. 19, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '04,, ppzllplriplappp-lpaa IIIIIIIIIIIIII l/hra Elsi/1f? Fatenteei Jane 226.9,

rA'r-ENr oF ric WILLARD E. SWIFT, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES ENVELOPE COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSAGHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR NESTED ARTICLES Application filed October 19, 1929. Serial No. 400,849.

a simple and inexpensive container for re-- ceiving a stack of nested cups, or other similar articles, and protecting them from dust and dirt, the container being characterized by thefact that it presents to the user only a small portion of the outermost cup of the stack so that it may be readily with drawn without the users fingers coming in contact with any of the other on s in the stack. The container is further 0 aracterized by the fact that the weight of the stack of cups therein is suflicient to always present the lowermost cup for removal from the container, thereby making it unnecessary to utilize any weights, springs or moving parts in connection with the container in order to dispense the cups.

Furthermore, the container is adapted to support the stack of cups, or other articles, in such a manner that when the projecting 'end of the lowermost cup of the stack is taken hold of by the user and withdrawn from the container, the remainder of the stack within the container tends to .move in a direction away from the cup being withdrawn, thereby facilitating the separation of the lowermost cup from the stack and practically eliminating the possibility of more than one cup at a time being withdrawn. The above and other advantage.

ous features of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a container embodying the invention and illustrating the manner in which the lowermost cup is presented.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the container shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is avertical sectional view along the line 33 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows. I

Fig. 4 is a plan view on an enlarged scale,

. the requisite stifiness for the cups to alway looking upwardly at the bottom of the con-' tainer shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical sectional views of a portion of the container shown in Fig. 3 illustrating the manner of withdrawing the lowermost cup of the stack.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are horizontal sectional views on an enlarged scale, along the line 77 of Fig. 3 illustrating the appearance of a cup at different stages in its withdrawal from the container. 1

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view simi-' lar to Fig. 5 showing the container empty and with its front opened to receive a fresh,

stack of cups.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a paper cup of the type which the container is particularly adapted to handle.

' Like reference characters refer to like parts in the difierent figures;

Referring to the drawings, the container comprises an elongated rectangular body 1, closed on all sides except at its lower end where it provides a dispensing slot 2 of a peculiar shape which will be hereinafter fully described. As shown in Fig. 3, the body 1 encloses a stack of nested cups 3 with the Wedge-shaped end portion 3a of the lowermost cup of the stack projecting downwardly through the dispensing slot 2,.so that the portion 3a may be readily taken hold of by the user when it isdesired to remove a cup from the container.

Referring now to Fig. 11, there is shown in perspective a single cup 3 of a type that is best adapted to be dispensed by my improved container, although other cups of this same general type may also be handled. The cup 3 provides an open self-extended mouth, substantially circular, or somewhat elliptical, in .form with a downwardly tapering rounded body terminating in a sealed wedge-shaped end portion 3a the intersecting sides of which are slightly flattened so that the cup may be readily seized when this portion projects through the dispensing slot 2, as shown in Fig.3. The cups 3 are preferably formed of paper possessing remain in an extended condition, and 0 viously cups of this type are readily nested within each other to form a stack, such as is shown in Fig. 3, theweight of which tends to move it downwardly into the dispensing cannot enter the container.

the hinged front and top closed, the extrem slot 2 of the container which will now be described in detail.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the container comprises a back 4 and parallel side walls 5, and a front 6 and top erably made as one piece and hinged at 8, so that the front and top may be swung downwardly'as indicated in Fig. 10 to permit a stack of cups 3 to be readily positioned in the vertical channel-like structure provided by the back 4 and side walls 5. The container may be conveniently attached to a vertical supporting surface 9 by means of screws 10 extending through the back 4.

When the container is closed, as shown in Fig. '2,'the flanges 11 carried by the combined front and top provide an effective seal with the side walls. 5, so that dust and dirt In orderto hold ities of the top flanges 11 provide depres-- sions 12 adapted. to receive suitable projec-.

tions 13 pressed out of the side walls 5, engagement between the projections '13 and depressions 12 being such as to frictionally hold the hinged front 6 and top 7 of the container closed.

As best shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the dispensing slot or dispensing passage 2 is defined by converging walls 14 and 15, sloping inwardly and downwardly from the back 4 and front 6, respectively, and by parallel walls 16 coextensive with the sidewalls 5 of the container proper; consequently the.

to force the wedge shaped end portion 3a ofthe lowermost cup through the narrowed end of the slot 2. It is evident from Fig. 7,

that the distance between the side walls 16 of the slot 2 is somewhat greater than the width of the elliptical mouth of theopen cup shown, measured along its major axis, or the diameter of a circular mouth cup, shown in dotted lines. Consequently, the stack of cups 3 is free to adjust itself vertically within the container without any tendency to bind.

It will also be noted that the front slot wall 15 is flattened at 17, 17 on opposite sides of its main tapered and rounded portion, while opposite portions of the rear slot wall 14 are curved rearwardly at 18, 18 away from the main rounded portion which engages the wall of the lowermost cup in 7, the latter prefthe stack. As a result, the lower portion or mouth of the slot 2 presents a generally narrow elliptical form with open ends, as shown in Fig. 4, as contrasted to the wide elliptical form of the upper portion of the approach to the-slot 2, and the function of this pecuharly shaped slot, when withdrawing a.

cup, will presently appear.

When it is desired to remove a cup from the container, the user grasps the projecting wedge-shaped portion 3a of the lowermost cup between the thumb and forefinger, as

shown in Fig. 5, and pulls the cu downwardly. Prior to the beginning of t e withdrawal movement, the cup appears as shown in Fig. -7, with a wide ellipt1cal,..or substantially circular mouth but as the cup is drawn into the narrowing slot 2, to the extent shown in Fig. 5, the mouth'of the cup assumes a narrow elliptical form, as the walls of the cup. are pressed together, as shownin Fig. 8. Continued downward movement of the 'cup through the slot 2, as shown in.

Fig. 6, finally flexes the open rim of the cup into the end spaces between the flattenedportions 17 of the front wall 15 and the rearwardly curved portions 18 of the back wall 14, so the rim of the cup-then appears as I in Fi 9. It will be evidentfrom Fig. 9 that t e cup readily conforms itself 'to the lower portion of the slot 2, since the distance between the slot walls 16 is considerably greater than the original width of the open elliptical or circular cu mouth measured alon its major axis or diameter, as the case may Consequently, when the cup is drawn into the slot, the relatively stiff material thereof readily springs out into the 0 en end spaces of the slot on either side 0 its points of greatest constriction. The cup remains in the form shown in Fig. 9 until it is entirely withdrawn from the slot 2, whereupon the compressed and somewhat deformed wall of the on tends to sprin out to resume its original rounded tapere form with an open self-extended mouth.

It is evident. that the deformation of a cup, as it is withdrawn, does not in any way crease the walls of the cup, since the deformation is gradual, due to the peculiar form of the slot 2 and its approach surfaces and due also to the fact that the length of the perimeter of the rim of the slot is equal to or somewhat greater than the length of the perimeter of an open cup mouth, whether it be circular or elliptical.

When the lowermost cup is first seized between the fingers preparatory to being pulled 35 paper stock, although other treatments may 1,915,ooe

possessing enough stifiness to resist fixure by the pressure applied between the fingers. In other Words, the. stack is actually pinched out of the end of the cup being withdrawn. As a result ofthis reaction between the cup being withdrawn and the stack, only the lowermost cup is separated from the stack and in fact it is practically impossible to withdraw more than one cup from the container at a time. As the withdrawal of a cup from the dispensing slot 2 progresses, the stack presses downwardly to project the wedge-shaped. end portion 3a of the next cup through the mouth of the slot where it can be readily taken hold of by the user, so that the container is always self-feeding.

The number of cups in the container at any time can be observed through one or more openings 19 provided in the front 6 and preferably covered by a transparent material to prevent the entrance of dirt and dust into the container and whenit is-desired to charge the container, the front and top are readily swung down, as indicated in Fig. 10 to permit the insertion of a fresh v stack.

In order to facilitatethe ready separation of the cups from the stack so that only one will be withdrawn at a time from the container, as described above, it has been found desirable. to treat the paper from' which the cups are, made so thatthe completed cups will present a relatively slippery surface.' One way of obtaining this slippery surface is by carefully waxingthe be employed in order to obtain the desired slipping efi'ect between the inner surface of the cup which is being withdrawn from the stack and the outer: surface of the next cup in the stack.

'From the foregoing, "it is apparent that by the present invention there is provided an extremely simple and eflective container for dispensing nested articles, such as open mouth drinking cups, as they are needed 'for use. After ,-the container has been charged-with fresh stack of cups and closed,

the cups are at all times completely protected from dust and dirt with only a portion of the wedge-shaped end of the lower; most; cup projecting through the dispensing slot in the container. Consequently, when a cup is withdrawn, the hands of .the user do not come into contact with any of :the

- other'cups in the stack and a withdrawn cup presents its extended .open mouth for use as soon as it clears the end of the dispensing slot of the container.

' I claim through a dispensing passage in thelower end of said container, said passage providing walls integral with the container and having a general form approximating the wedge-shaped body of an article, said article being compressed and elongated along axes at right angles to each other during its withdrawal from the container, and

tracting its walls to provide a dispensingslot, the width of which is substantially less and the length of which is substantially greater than the greatest dimension of the open mouth of one of said articles, with the perimeter of said slot-as great as the perimeter of the open mouth of said article and withthe ends of said slot of substantial width, to compress and elongate an article along axes at right angles to each other as the article is withdrawn from the container without creasing said article.

Dated this sixteenth day of October, 1929.

WILLARD E. SWIFT.

7 1. A dispensing container adapted to'receive and support-av stack of self-distended wedge-shaped articles with the weight ofthe stack causing .the lowermost portion thereof to project outside of the. container 

